"Believe Storybook" Review

As a book reviewer, I have a lot of control over what I review.  For that reason, most of my book reviews are fairly positive.  After all, who's gonna pick a book they KNOW they're gonna hate?  Occasionally a book that I'm really excited about with disappoint.  (Sadly, my previous book review was one of those.)  But occasionally I will pick a book that I'm "not quite sure about" and it will be a FABULOUS SURPRISE.  The "Believe Storybook," by Randy Frazee is just such a book!!!

When I was picking a book to review from BookLook Bloggers, I overlooked this one several times. I'm not sure why.  Maybe its because we own so many story book Bibles?  I'm not really sure.  But thankfully, I decided to take the plunge and give this one a try!

This isn't your typical storybook Bible.  It doesn't start with the Old Testament and then end with the New Testament.  Oh no!  Randy Frazee had an incredible, fascinating idea!  Playing of of his "Think, Act, Be Like Jesus" series, this Bible storybook has three sections:

The "Think" section (the first 10 chapters) discusses the core beliefs of Christian life.  Questions answered in this section include: "Who is God?", "How do I have a relationship with God?", "How does God see us?" and "What happens next?"   The "Act" section (the next 10 chapters) discusses the core practices of Christian life.  Questions answered in this section include: "How do I study God's word?", "How do I keep my focus on Jesus?", and "How do I best use my time to serve God and others?  The "Be" section (the last 10 chapters) discusses the core virtues of Christian life.  This section answers questions such as: "What gives us true happiness and contentment in life?", "Where do I find strength to battle worry and fear?", and ""How does God help me wait?"

As I mentioned, Randy Frazee didn't follow the usual "storybook Bible format."  He doesn't start with the Old Testament and the New Testament.  Instead, each chapter begins with the "Key Question." For example, the first key question is: "Who is God?"

After each key question (and a little discussion about it) there's an Old Testament story that helps us with the answer.  (The OT story for this question is the story of creation.)

After the OT story, there's a section called "The Jump to Jesus."  This section helps your child see the "big picture" of where Jesus fits into this story and the key question.

Then (and this is what I REALLY loved) there's a corresponding New Testament story!  In a further effort to help kids see the "big picture" Randy Frazee places a New Testament story with each Old Testament story!  The NT story for the key question "Who is God" is the baptism of Jesus.

After the NT story there's a section called "The Jesus Answer" that further explains the connects the two stories.  In this section of the "Who is God" question, Mr. Frazee uses the baptism of Jesus to illustrate the Trinity (since all three Persons of the Trinity are in that story)!

How brilliant is that!  I love the connection that Mr. Frazee makes between the Old Testament and the New Testament.   And I love how beautifully simple the chapters are!  I loved this book SO MUCH that my husband and I have decided to use it for our family devotions (since we want something simple for our four and two year olds).  Every week we will cover one chapter.  Monday will be the Key Question, Tuesday will be the Old Testament story, Wednesday will be The Jump to Jesus, Thursday will be the New Testament Story, and Friday will be The Jesus Answer. I would definitely recommend this book!

I received a copy of this book, free of charge, from BookLook Bloggers, in exchange for my honest review.